


Not So Different

by Anichibi



Category: Dragon Quest XI, Persona 5, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Hero | Luminary is Named Eleven | El (Dragon Quest XI), I'll make joker luminary friendship a thing even if it kills me, M/M, Nightmares, P5 Protag is Akira, Persona 5 Spoilers, Selectively mute Luminary, Snowball Fight, el is selectively mute but he warms up quick depending on the person, i don't actually know sign language if anything is weird then that's why, listen there's no ssbu content for my son el and i think he deserves some love, smth small between bth fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2020-11-23 09:09:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20889641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anichibi/pseuds/Anichibi
Summary: This takes place before the first chapter and also the chapters are all gonna end up not being in chronological order oops but anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

Akira never really noticed the rain pouring outside until a crack of thunder echoed loudly through the air. He glanced out and, sure enough, water fell from the sky in a total downpour. Added with his roommate, who was completely absent from the room and had a weird affinity for sitting in the rain, and the one lone figure Akira saw standing on the field, he figured he should drag the Luminary in before he got sick.

Stepping across the dripping wet grass with an umbrella in hand, the phantom thief went up to the hero standing in the field. The guy was soaked, and his hair was dripping wet and sticking to his face as he tilted his head up with eyes closed. Akira lifted the umbrella over him, making him open his eyes when he no longer felt the rain hitting his body. He looked next to him and gave an unreadable, but still pleasant smile. Akira returned the expression with a laugh. "You're gonna get sick out here, you know."

El didn't give very much reaction. El started signing something only to stop midway when he remembered Akira didn't understand sign language. The hero was very picky about speaking, and almost always used sign language until he was comfortable with someone. Speaking to Akira verbally was just something he'd have to get used to, it seemed. It was a good thing he warmed up quickly. "I know." was his short, simple, quick response, voice quiet and words almost drowned out by the rain.

"Not saying I'm offended, but is standing out here getting soaked to the bone really more fun than hanging out with your roommate?" The question was asked in a joking manner, El laughing softly.

"It's relaxing out here. It helps ease my nerves." El replied. "Being a hero is exhausting sometimes."

"That's a fair point, I suppose." While not a hero in the eyes of the law, Akira was still a hero to the people of Shibuya. The stresses of stealing the treasure on time on top of constantly catering to his confidants' needs would probably tire anyone out after a while. Part of him forgets exactly when it was he started running off nothing but coffee and three hours of sleep.

"Worse when you're running from the law, too." El continued. At some point, he had moved Akira's hand with the umbrella away, and it was now covering its owner.

"Definitely. And dealing with god-like deities or just straight up gods? No thanks, I didn't sign up for this!" Akira laughed as he spoke, and El was laughing as well.

"Or when you think you're almost done but then something else comes up and you're back to square one!" El added, still laughing. Akira seemed to be laughing harder now.

"Y-Yeah! Like gee, give a guy a little break before you make his life hell! Just five minutes at least!" Akira dropped the umbrella at some point, clutching his sides as his laughter joined with El's to fill the air. They probably looked crazy to anyone that gave a passing glance, but they were enjoying themselves more than they had once in their respective journeys. It wasn't until El's laughter was interrupted by a sneeze that the two stifled their laughter. "I told you you were gonna get sick!" Akira stated before sneezing.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's sick." El said with a lopsided grin.

"Let's get inside before we get really sick. If anyone asks, this is entirely your fault." Akira said as he picked up his umbrella. El didn't join him underneath but still followed him as the boy walked back to the door.

"Well, I suppose that's fair. It _was_ kinda my fault."

"_Kinda?!_" Akira burst into laughter again as he bumped El in the arm with his free hand. The Luminary joined his laughter again.

Neither had any right to complain about being sick the next morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before the first chapter and also the chapters are all gonna end up not being in chronological order oops but anyway.

Akira didn't really know what to think of the new additions to the roster. The party held for them was lively on one side, most of the older fighters crowded around that bear and his bird friend, and there were maybe three or four people hanging around with the new swordfighter. Most of the fighters that weren't exactly party people either hung by the sides or just straight up didn't show. Akira, in his Joker garb, usually would want to be part of the crowd in a party, but right now he was far off to the side, swishing a cup of soda in his hand. He glanced back at that swordfighter - he vaguely recalled people calling him the Luminary - having a conversation with Link. Everyone else that had been around him either migrated to the crowd or drifted to an empty area in the dining room. Joker figured he should be courteous and introduce himself to the boy. Shoving himself off the wall with his elbow, he waltzed over to Link and the Luminary. The blond noticed his approach and waved at him, smiling. The phantom thief and the hero may have gotten off on the wrong foot at first, but they grew on each other eventually.

"I see the party's much calmer around here." Akira joked, earning a short bit of laughter from Link and the Luminary.

"Yeah. We had Marth and Roy over earlier, but I guess they couldn't resist joining everyone in celebrating Banjo's addition." Link rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit Akira noticed he had.

"Not me. I didn't really know who most of these guys were before I came here, let alone who that bear is. Suppose I was just born in the wrong decade."

The Luminary made several hand gestures Akira didn't really understand. He noticed it was something Link did often as well. He always meant to ask the hero what it was, but he never found a chance to bring it up. Link, upon seeing Akira's very confused expression (he had removed his mask for the occasion and tucked it in his pocket,) had a small moment of realization before making similar motions back to the Luminary. The boy's face shifted to something that was honestly unreadable for Akira. A few more exchanges like this later and Link sighed. "You don't happen to understand sign language, do you, Akira."

"They don't teach in back home, but even if they did, I don't think it'd be the same. Besides, learning a whole new language isn't really something I've had time for since I arrived. I'm just lucky they taught English back home." Akira replied before downing what was left in his cup.

"Damn. I'd love to teach you sometime, but between tournaments and such, I don't have infinite time on my hands." Link ran a hand through his hair, exchanging looks with the Luminary. "Tell you what, I'll be an interpreter for the night. Won't be the smoothest conversation, but hopefully enough to help El open up a bit."

"El?"

"Ah, that's his name. Here, why don't you sit down?" Link awkward positioned himself as he toed a chair over to form a sort of half-circle with the seats. Akira sat himself down as Link fixed himself to sit properly in the chair. "Alright, who wants to start?"

The three ended up talking almost the whole night. Halfway through the conversation, El was starting to speak with his voice and not his hands, although his voice was drowned out somewhat whenever the crowd on the other side of the room cheered. They didn't even notice when the party ended until Robin tapped Link on the shoulder and directed his attention to the rest of the fighters cleaning up. El got up to help before Link pushed him back down in the chair.

"You just got here and this party was technically for you, even if pretty much no one acknowledged you. You should relax. That reminds me. Akira, you don't have a roommate, right?"

"Nope. I wouldn't mind having one, either. What do ya say, El?" The boy in question, suddenly self-conscious about his voice, signed something to Link.

"You wouldn't be bothering him or anything. Right, Akira?"

"Yeah. It's not like you're gonna have me running around all over the place or anything. C'mon." Akira took the Luminary's hand and led him out of the dining room. He led the boy to his room, opening the door and stepping in before gesturing for the other to enter. El took a hesitant step in, looking around the room.

On one side of the room closest to the door, it was decorated with various items, likely things from Akira's own world, along with a pair of glasses on the desk and a jacket hanging off the chair. The other side remained untouched. Two large windows looking over the field outside were set on each side. The one on Akira's side was cracked open, letting in a cool summer breeze. El wandered around the space a bit, falling back on the bed on the unoccupied side of the room. Akira walked over to the boy and hovered over him with a grin. "Comfortable enough for ya?" El nodded, looking very much like he was about to fall asleep. "You should probably get under the blankets before you fall asleep. You look pretty tired, too." El pointed to Akira like he was asking a question, and it took a second for the thief to figure out why. "Oh, me? Nah, I've always been a night owl. Even more so after the Phantom Thieves became a thing. I can bring your things up for you."

El shook his head to tell him it wasn't necessary. "You always this stubborn?" The thief asked jokingly. The Luminary shook his head in response. "I see. Well, I'll be right back. See you again in a bit." And with that, Akira closed the door and took a brisk pace to the lobby.

By the time he got back, El was fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Persona 5 spoiler in this chapter! Just a heads up! If you haven't played past December 18 at the latest then I'd advise skipping over this chapter. If you don't care about P5 spoilers then go right ahead.

Akira sat up in the bed with wild eyes, hands shaking as they gripped the blankets. God, how long had it been since he'd had any dreams related to the palaces? Especially anything relating to Akechi. The one person he couldn't save when he was right in front of him. Akira thought he felt something wet hit his hand and it took him a few seconds to realize he was crying, and it took him longer to realize his roommate was awake and staring at him from across the room. "Akira?" El's face was illuminated by the lamp sitting next to his bed, Akira able to make out the pure concern in his face.

"Sorry, El, you should sleep."

"But-"

"It's nothing, really." Akira wiped his eyes as he spoke.

"It's not just nothing if you're crying, Akira."

"Just a nightmare, I'll be fine." Akira lay back down in bed and shuffled about under the covers for a moment before he was settled.

"Akira, are you sure I can't help you or something?"

"Go back to sleep, El." Akira's voice had some bite to it, and it silenced El immediately. The thief wouldn't deny the guilt he felt for snapping at the other, but all he wanted was to sleep and forget that dream ever happened.

After a short pause, El spoke again. "Alright. Goodnight, Akira." The sounds of movement told Akira that El was laying down again. Akira sighed. Hoping for dreamless sleep, he closed his eyes and his conscious drifted off.

_"In the end... I couldn't be special..."_

Snapped back to that moment on the ship. His mind is foggy. All details are muddy. Only Akechi is clear. Akira gets that sinking feeling in his gut, as sharp breaths hurt his lungs and fresh bruises and scrapes cover his skin and make it burn. _Goddammit_ not _again dammit dammit dammit-_

_"You should get rid of me... if you don't want me getting in your way."_

_Stop stop stop stop stop wake up **now** Akira wake up wake up wake up-_

_"Haha... I was such a fool"_

The gun goes up. Pointed at Joker. At Akira. The cognitive version of the boy in front of him laughs. His words are too muffled for Akira to hear.

_"... Don't misunderstand."_

Akechi spins around. The gun fires. It hits his cognitive self. His cognitive self hits him. There's blood. Blood spilling from both figures. Akechi aims again. He shoots the switch behind the thieves. A think metal wall goes up and separates them. Akechi isn't visible now.

_"Hurry up and go!"_

Akira refuses. He pounds on the metal door. His arms hurt. His hands hurt. He's sure his knuckles start bleeding. He doesn't care. His throat feels raw. He's screaming. Yusuke says something. Words are muffled. He only hears his own screams and Akechi's voice coming through the metal.

_"The real fools... are you guys. You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago... You would have all perished... if you had tried to fight these with me weighing you down..."_

A cough. Akira slams his arms on the wall. It does not budge.

_"Let's make a deal... OK? You won't say no... will you? Change Shido's heart... in my stead... End his crimes... Please...!"_

Akira's assault on the wall stops. His body aches. He ignores it. "I promise." His mouth moves before his brain catches up. Silence stretches on.

_"So, my final enemy is a puppet version of myself... Not bad."_

Haru speaks. Ann speaks. Akira hears nothing. Two gunshots fire, one after another. Morgana speaks. His voice is muffled. Only one voice remains clear.

_"His signal is... gone..."_

__

Akira shot up again in bed, letting out a scream he never realized he was holding in him. He cursed under his breath as tears spilled endlessly from his eyes. The heels of his palms dug into his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. A hand came on his back and began rubbing circles on it. Akira looked up and saw El sitting in a chair next to his bed. "Sorry, I know you wanted me to leave you alone. But, you were crying in your sleep. I'd feel like a terrible friend if I wasn't there to help. I tried to wake you, but you didn't budge. Sorry I couldn't help."

__

Akira stared wide-eyed at the other, momentarily forgetting about the tears staining his face and the cause of them. The sounds of gunshots echo in his mind and Akira found himself latched onto El in a second, crying more than he ever thought he could. Arms came around him and a hand rubbed his back. Akira tried to stop crying with little success. El didn't say a word as Akira buried his face in his shoulder to muffle his voice.

__

After what felt like ages to Akira, he was finally cried out. He pulled away from El, who offered a lopsided smile. Akira returned the gesture. "Thanks. I guess I needed that." Akira chuckled.

__

El yawned, stretching like a cat in the chair. "No problem. You've been helping me since I got here. It's really the least I can do." El replied as he stood up and returned to his own bed across the room. "G'night, Akira."

__

"Yeah. Night, El."

__


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR I FINALLY GOT A SWITCH AND SMASH ULTIMATE SO HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER TO CELEBRATE. this is gonna end up a ship fic because i said so. none of you are immune to luminjoker propaganda.

"Are you telling me you've never been in a snowball fight before?" Akira laughed. El was watching the kid fighters throwing snowballs at each other, looking completely confused.

"I never even saw snow until I ended up in Sniflheim. It was always too warm for snow in Cobblestone."

"Okay, well, how's about we change that, huh? Here, watch." Akira began gathering up snow in his hands and packing it tight into a ball. Then he threw it at Pit standing some distance away. The angel yelped as snow hit him in the back of the head and he faked fainting.

El looked from Pit to the snow on the ground before gathering it up and making a ball. He cast Crack on the ball, making it icy and solid as a rock. Akira grabbed his arm and lowered it when he tried to throw it. "You're not supposed to freeze it into a ball of ice. We're not trying to hurt people here." He said with a laugh.

"Oh. My bad..."

"No worries. Let's try that again, this time without the ice spells, 'kay?" El nodded in response and repeated what he did earlier and held out the snowball with satisfaction when he finished. "Nice job. Now, find someone to throw it at."

El looked around for a bit in search of potential targets before turning and catching Akira off guard as he threw the snowball at him. Akira stumbled as the snow hit him square in the face and began wiping it away from his eyes and off his glasses. "You sneaky little-!" Akira laughed. El was snickering. Half of Akira's face still had snow on it, and some of it spread to his hair and scarf.

Akira began making a snowball before he was hit again and then looked to see El crouched down and making another ball as well. Akira stood, snowball in hand as he spoke in a dramatic tone. "Oh, it's on now! You shall regret ever challenging I, Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves and hero to the people of Shibu-" his monologue was cut off by another snowball hitting him in the chest. El was laughing, trying to hold the few snowballs he made in one arm and covering his mouth with the other. Akira threw the one snowball he had at El and laughed triumphantly, returning to his dramatic, villain-like monologue. "Aha! I have hit you at last! You may have had the first strike, but I assure you will not win, Luminary! For I am Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves, and I will not go down without a fight!" El threw another snowball at him and Akira began to break into small fits of laughter as he started making more snowballs. El threw another one at him and hit him in the back. He laughed as Akira stood up and, with the newly made snowballs in hand, began his counterattack. One snowball hit El in the leg, another hit his chest and a third his arm.

They went on for hours until the sun was setting and they were freezing from the snow that melted into their clothes. Akira threw one last snowball at El laying in the snow before falling back into the snow as well. "At last, I have bested you, sir Luminary! For I have gotten the last strike!" El took some snow in his hand and lazily threw it at Akira, who muttered a defeated "dammit" as it hit his chest. El laughed tiredly in response.

"Maybe you'll get a bit luckier next time, sir Joker. And maybe we should go inside now." El gestured to the now empty snowy field, the younger kids long gone and the sky lit up in a gradient of blue to orange.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Besides the fact I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers, that's probably the most fun I've had in a long time."

"That might be the most fun I've ever had."

"Ever? You're probably exaggerating just a bit there, aren't you, El?"

"Hard to say. This was certainly the most exciting day I've had since I jumped off a cliff."

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"I can tell you about it sometime." El laughed. "Anyway, I don't know about you, but I'm going inside. I'm freezing right now." El pulled himself out of the snow and offered Akira a hand. Akira took it and let the other pull him to his feet with little effort.

"Just so you know, I'm totally gonna win next time."

"You can keep telling yourself that, Akira."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i'm updating twice in the same day i started writing this last night because i wanted some akira comforting el because i'm dumb and soft so here

Akira returned to his shared room with El after a match to find all the lights off and El's bed a mess, the blankets missing from the bed and in a lump on the floor. "El? You in here?" All Akira heard in response was a soft whimper from the blankets. He shut the door behind him and walked to the lump of blankets on the floor, kneeling behind it. "El? You doing okay?" He spoke softly as to not startle the boy he knew was hiding there, but the Luminary still gasped at his voice and Akira could see him trying to wipe his eyes as he faced the wall. "Hey, you know you don't have to hide things from me. C'mon, look at me." El didn't comply. Akira could hear him trying not to cry too loud. "El, please. I just wanna help. You don't even have to tell me what's wrong, you can just cry on me if you need to."

El finally complied, turning around to face Akira. The thief couldn't see much in the dark, but the faint light from the evening sky shining through the windows was enough for him to see El's face. The boy's eyes were red and puffy and tear tracks stained his face. His hair was messy, either from being under the blanket or from general lack of care, Akira didn't know. El quietly shuffled closer to Akira and hugged him, taking him under the blanket as he started crying again.

Akira had noticed that his roomate wasn't as cheerful as usual lately and that he was staying in their room a lot more, but he never tried to approach the subject with him. And now he was regretting it. "Hey, I noticed you haven't really been acting like yourself lately. I'd been meaning to ask you about it but it kept slipping my mind because you always seemed fine when I came in. I'm sorry I didn't try to talk to you about it sooner. You can stay here as long as you need. I don't mind." Akira pat the other's back and El clung a bit closer to Akira, sobbing and muttering things Akira couldn't hear between gasps. Akira whispered reassurances and encouragement to the other, whatever he thought he needed to hear as he pat his back. El's crying grew softer as time went and soon he was just limply laying in Akira's arms.

"Are you still awake?" El nodded in response. "Do you wanna tell me what's wrong? You don't have to if you don't want to. I won't force you." El shook his head. "Do you at least feel better than you did before?" El nodded again. "Alright. The others were worried about you, so I should tell them you're doing better now. I'll be back in a bit, alright?" When Akira tried to get up, El held him tighter.

"... Can you..."

"What?"

"Can you stay? Please?" El's voice was so quiet that Akira wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't completely silent in their room.

"Yeah, of course." They laid there in silence, El's small sobs between breathes being the only sound.

The door opened, making El yelp and move closer to Akira in hopes he wouldn't be seen. "Hey, Akira? Everything okay in here?" That was Erdrick's voice, one of the other heroes. "Is El doing alright?" He asked when he noticed the boy in question clinging to the thief.

"He's fine. Just been having a rough week is all. I was going to tell you guys but, well..." Akira gestured to El laying on top of him. "Anyway, there's no reason to worry. I've got him. You guys go have fun without us." The door shut as Erdrick left and then the two were alone again.

"I'm sorry." El muttered just loud enough to be heard.

"You don't have to apologise for this. These things happen sometimes. I'm not angry or anything. I'm just glad you're letting me help." Akira replied.

"But... I'm being so selfish and keeping you here when you could be having fun with the others. Instead you're stuck with me..."

"Hey, I don't wanna hear that. You're not being selfish for wanting a little emotional support. Besides, I would've stayed here anyway even if you were feeling better. It seems like all you really need is some company right now."

"Thank you." El sobbed. Akira lifted his face and wiped some of his tears away.

"You're welcome, El."

When Erdrick came back to check on them a while later, he found the two on the floor on top of each other, sleeping peacefully.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one said i couldn't end this with dumb kids being soft right
> 
> last chapter ft. solo being an idiot and eight being incredibly unhelpful

A soft knock at the door to Eight and Solo's shared room made the former groan, the book in his hands falling on his lap as his head fell back. "Solo, get the door."

"Am I your servant now?" The green-haired hero asked as he went over to the door.

"Sure, if you wanna be." Eight replied jokingly. Solo rolled his eyes as he opened the door to an unexpected visitor.

"Well, Kurusu, this is a surprise." He stated. It was rare for the thief to come by, even more so without El in tow. The boy seemed a bit dazed and lost in his thoughts. "You wanna stand in the hallway for ten minutes or are you gonna come in?"

Akira was snapped from his thoughts and nodded distractedly. He stepped in, unsure of where to sit and simply stood in the middle of the room. "Is there any reason you came here? It's pretty unusual for you to come see us, even with El." Solo pointed out. Akira rubbed his neck.

"There was something I needed to talk to you guys about. I needed some advice."

"And you came to us _why_?" Eight chimed from the other side of the room. Solo shot him a look as the other shrugged and returned to his book.

"You can just pretend Eight isn't here. Anyway, what do you need?" Solo stated as he sat in the chair next to the desk. It was a regular old chair made of wood with cushions on the seat and back. Akira recalled El having one of those before stealing Akira's desk chair and requesting his own solely to spin around in. The thief sat on Solo's bed across from him.

"Well, um... I'm just gonna skip right to the point. Do you think... Do you think El likes me?" Solo looked confused and Eight was snickering quietly off to the side.

"I'd hope so. He's your roommate and all." Eight burst into laughter at that. A glare from Solo didn't entirely shut him up, but he did quiet down a decent amount.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean do you think he... _like_ likes me?"

"I don't see how adding another like to that sentence changes it's meaning." Solo replied flatly. "Wait." Solo said suddenly. Then he smacked himself in the forehead. "Dear goddess, I'm an idiot." Eight started laughing again and this time Solo didn't try to stop him. He simply sat with his head in his hands, groaning at his own stupidity.

"So is that a yes, or...?"

"Sorry, sorry, I was just being the biggest idiot on the planet there. Anyway, I can't say for sure, but he definitely at least seems happier with you than most of the other fighters. Really, the best way to figure that out is to just ask him."

"But what if that makes things awkward or-"

"You're not gonna make things awkward. Promise. Besides, it's not like you have a crush on him, right?" A long pause was what Solo got in response. "Oh my goddess don't tell me-"

"...Yeah"

"Akira Kurusu, I swear to the goddess-"

"I know, I'm a mess."

"Well! That might change things a bit. But my answer isn't any different. El hates awkwardness, trust me. He spent five minutes trying to hold a conversation with Marth the other day and he left out of embarrassment that all he'd been doing was making things even more awkward." Solo laughed a bit at the memory, and it got a small bit of laughter out of Akira, too. "Besides, even if things go south, he'd still want you as his friend. That's just the kind of person he is. Trust me on that."

"I know what he's like, trust me. Thanks for the help, Solo."

"Anytime. Now, go get 'im." Solo ushered the thief out of the room and waved to him before he shut the door.

"You seriously think things won't go horribly wrong?" Eight asked. "Because I have my doubts, honestly."

"Oh, trust me, I'm positive things will go alright." Solo replied with a smirk.

"What makes you think that?" Eight's book was now laying marked and closed on the bedside table, forgotten as soon as it was put down.

"If I told you, I'd be spilling a secret a certain someone told me." "The green-haired hero laughed.

"Wha-?! Tell me!"

"You'll find out pretty soon, I'm sure. Just be patient, my dear Eight."

"You're an ass sometimes, you know that?"

\-----

"So this is where you went." Akira found El bundled under the blanket and laying on the floor where the heat came through. "What are you doing?" Akira laughed as he closed the door behind him.

"It's cold. The floor's warm."

"I was looking for you. You said you'd be with Link. Something happen?"

"It got too loud. And I got too cold." El replied with half of his face pressed against the carpeted floor.

"Well, is laying on the floor with a blanket over you helping at all?" Akira asked as he approached the mound on the floor.

"Not really. Though, I know something that might help better." El stood up with the blanket still over him and pulled Akira down to the floor in a hug. Akira tensed up but relaxed just as quickly as El leaned into his warmth. "Yeah, this is better." He stated with a smile.

Akira's mind was buzzing, trying to figure out something to do. He wanted to get his feelings across, and he couldn't will himself to speak. So, he took a different approach. Before he could stop himself, he tilted El's head up by his chin and locked lips with his. The kiss was clumsy and Akira broke it after a few seconds, face burning red. After a short couple seconds of the two staring at each other in silence, Akira broke the silence. "I-I'm sorry, I was just- um, I should go, I'm sorry-" he tried to get up, but El's hold on him tightened. Akira was scared he messed everything up, and that fear kept growing stronger until El cupped his cheek and kissed him. The kiss lasted longer than the first, and Akira was speechless when El broke the kiss.

"I don't think I have to say anything, right?" El asked sheepishly. The small burst of confidence he had was gone now, and the soft-spoken hero was now nervously pressed against Akira's chest. "Should I say something anyway?" He asked. Akira's mind couldn't keep up. Once it did, he managed to find his voice and his mouth gained a mind of its own.

"I love you." Akira blurted out before he could even think to stop. It didn't need to be said, they both knew actions speak louder than words, but Akira just needed to say it. He wanted it out there. El simply stared at him, eyes wide as if he was surprised. "El?" Akira tilted his head at the boy lying unresponsive on top of him. Then, El's face lit up. His arms around Akira's waist tightened their hold and suddenly Akira was being lifted up by the hero. His glasses fell off and landed on the blanket now lying in a lump on the floor, and he was clinging to El as the boy laughed and spun around. El tripped over his own two feet and fell back onto the floor with a thud, still laughing even as Akira began hovering over him, concern plain as day on his face. "Are you okay?!" Akira was pulled down into another hug and he just took that as a yes.

"Akira, I really love you. I really, really love you." He said, his face buried in Akira's shoulder. Akira sighed, hugging the other back as best as he could what with him laying on the floor.

"Don't worry, El, I picked up on that."

"Can we just stay here like this for a while?"

"On the floor? Why don't we at least move to the bed because I really doubt that's comfortable for your back."

"I-I, um... okay." Akira then stood and lifted El off the floor, carrying him to the bed on Akira's side of the room. He set him down and got into the bed with him, and when he looked at him again, El's face was hidden in his hands.

"_Now_ you're embarrassed?" Akira laughed. He pulled El closer to him and pried his hand away from his face. El's face was bright red and it took some effort to get his other hand away from his face. Once he accomplished that, he rested his forehead against El's and sighed. Neither one spoke a word. Akira's arms went around the other's waist and pulled him closer. El gave an embarrassed squeak in response. For several moments he simply lay there, staring at Akira's peaceful expression, unsure of what he should do. Nervously, he cupped the other's cheek and was surprised when Akira's eyes cracked open and he gave a small smile. He laughed and moved just a bit closer and slowly his breathing evened out. He was fast asleep now. El doesn't remember when he himself fell asleep as well.


End file.
